Chapter 735 656: In Misfortune Lies Fortune; Know Thyself, Know Thy Enemy

'Without their side getting involved, this whole drama would be rather dull.'

'When the time comes, the Merak Saintess will probably value me even more, and I might even reap some unexpected rewards.'

Figures like the Merak Saint Son and Merak Saintess possessed a great many treasures. Things like scarce Spirit Medicines and exceptionally rare Ancient Texts were normally very difficult to come by. However, if he performed outstandingly, the Merak Saintess might gift him something valuable, whether to show her high regard for him personally or to demonstrate her appreciation for talent in general.

To Yang Chan, this would be a windfall. It would be nice to get these things, of course, but it wouldn't matter much if he didn't. He just had to stick to his plan.

'The refining process for the Auxiliary Spirit Cold Marrow Pill isn't too complicated. Its difficulty is about the same as the Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill!'

After carefully reading a detailed record of the refining process for the Auxiliary Spirit Cold Marrow Pill, Yang Chan had a general understanding of the procedure. For him, it didn't seem particularly difficult.

He could already refine elixirs for the first Bone Marrow Cleansing and was on the verge of being able to refine them for the Second Bone Marrow Cleansing. Therefore, for him, refining the Auxiliary Spirit Cold Marrow Pill wasn't very complicated at all.

He was quite confident he could succeed as long as he familiarized himself with the refining process.

'A relatively outstanding performance refining the Auxiliary Spirit Cold Marrow Pill should yield about ten pills. My own normal refining, however, should produce over thirty. When the time comes, I can test exactly how many Potential Points the Auxiliary Spirit Cold Marrow Pill provides!'

'If the amount is significant, then I'll collect more materials for the Auxiliary Spirit Cold Marrow Pill!'

'The Holy Land has also established new Spirit Fields to cultivate these special Spiritual Materials. If they succeed, I can add this elixir to my list for Daily Potential Point Collection!'

The Merak Sacred Land possessed many Spiritual Materials. Some were Spirit Medicines native to the Profound Void Grotto Heaven, but they didn't account for a high percentage. The vast majority were brought back from other Secret Realms.

Although not every type of Spiritual Material could be successfully cultivated, this was offset by the sheer quantity of different types. Combined with over a thousand years of accumulation by the Merak Sacred Land, their collection of Spiritual Materials was immense.

The many elixirs Yang Chan refined were proof of this. The Spirit Medicines and materials needed for those elixirs were anything but simple and could never have been gathered in the Cyan Yuan Sect. Only a Grotto Heaven like the Merak Sacred Land could make it possible.

As for these unique Spiritual Materials brought back from the ruins within the Demon Cave, they were, in a sense, native to the Profound Void Grotto Heaven. Therefore, the probability of successfully cultivating them was very high, which gave Yang Chan a measure of hope.

If the increase to his Daily Potential Point Collection was decent, and the Merak Sacred Land succeeded in cultivating the materials, he would have yet another stable source of Potential Points.

...

Yang Chan only stayed on Chiyu Peak for a day before returning to the Pill Pavilion.

There was no Earth Fire on Chiyu Peak, making it inconvenient for Alchemy. Consequently, not many Pharmacists remained there. This was especially true after a portion of Chiyu Peak's Pharmacists were assigned to work at the Spirit Medicine Tower, leaving even fewer behind.

However, this wasn't just an issue for Chiyu Peak; it was the norm throughout the Merak Sacred Land.

To improve one's Pharmacist Ability, one naturally had to stay busy at the Pill Pavilion. That was how to earn more Contribution Points and get more opportunities to refine elixirs.

When he returned to the Spirit Medicine Tower, he found that nothing much had changed, and no incidents had occurred.

With people like Han Bingyu and Xu Gaocen managing the affairs of the Intermediate Pharmacists at the Spirit Medicine Tower, Yang Chan's absence had little impact. This stability was something that had gradually been established, allowing him more time to focus on Alchemy and improve his Pharmacist Ability.

Of course, that was just on the surface. In secret, Yang Chan's daily Martial Arts Cultivation had never ceased. Even though he had temporarily stopped spending many Potential Points on the Peng Demon Bone Marrow Cleansing Scripture to focus on his Pharmacist profession, his cultivation was still steadily progressing.

He was slowly advancing toward the realm of a Third Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster.

Even without using Potential Points to boost his progress, his sheer proficiency would ensure that he would become the Merak Sacred Land's youngest Third Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster.

In fact, Yang Chan was already the Merak Sacred Land's youngest Second Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster. He was slightly younger than both the Merak Saint Son and the Merak Saintess, yet his Martial Arts Cultivation surpassed theirs.

If they knew the truth of his Martial Arts Cultivation, they would likely stop being hostile to each other and unite to deal with him instead. Unless they could confirm he had no chance of becoming the Saint Master, their campaign against him would be relentless. This was one of the reasons why Yang Chan didn't want to expose his Martial Arts Cultivation.

His Pharmacist profession, however, didn't pose the same problem. While the status of a Top Level Pharmacist was transcendent, they were essentially unable to become the Merak Sacred Land's Saint Master. Since the founding of the Merak Sacred Land, not a single Pharmacist had ever become the Merak Saint Master. Therefore, this identity was actually quite detached from the power struggle and posed no threat to the Merak Saint Son or Merak Saintess.

"Pharmacist Yang, things at the Spirit Medicine Tower are the same as before. As for Pharmacist Xu..."

"All in all, there have been no major changes!"

Not long after Yang Chan arrived at the Spirit Medicine Tower, Han Bingyu took the initiative to find him and report on the situation there.

There were some minor issues, but they didn't require Yang Chan's intervention at all and were things they could handle themselves.

The reason Han Bingyu was reporting in such detail was because of the matter with the Quasi-Saint Son. She was reporting the details to guard against the possibility that the Quasi-Saint Son still had people in their midst.

This was also related to the possibility that the Quasi-Saint Son might cause trouble for Yang Chan, which was why Han Bingyu was being so cautious. In this regard, she had learned a great deal from Yang Chan.

"Mm, just carry on as usual."

"During this time, help me gather more information about Li Yu Peak, especially about their skilled Pill Masters—the Third Level Alchemists!"

Yang Chan instructed as he looked at Han Bingyu.

Actually, before Yang Chan returned to the Pill Pavilion, Liu Xuan had already arranged for someone to deliver some information on Li Yu Peak. It included information on several Third Level Alchemists, complete with annotations, to help Yang Chan prepare in advance and avoid being caught off guard.

Yang Chan had a general understanding of their situations, but he still tasked Han Bingyu with investigating further. Information gathered from different channels could have discrepancies.

The Pill Pavilion's Pharmacist network was different from the one at Chiyu Peak, and the Pill Masters themselves knew even more secrets about one another.

Although Yang Chan was very confident and the outcome of the competition wasn't crucial, he still needed to understand his opponents better.

After all, to know the enemy and know yourself was the path to victory in a hundred battles.

Defeating them would, of course, be even better.

"Yes, Pharmacist Yang. I'll go make the arrangements right away!"

Upon hearing this, Han Bingyu didn't ask for a reason and simply agreed.

The reason wasn't important to her; Yang Chan's instructions were all that mattered.

"Li Yu Peak supports the Quasi-Saint Son, so the trouble will likely come from them. That's all. You can go and arrange this matter now."

Yang Chan gave a simple explanation before dismissing Han Bingyu.

'In truth, Li Yu Peak doesn't have many Third Level Alchemists—only seven in total. Four of them are still unable to refine elixirs that can assist a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster; they've only reached the stage of refining the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill, which is the norm.

The remaining three, who can refine elixirs to assist Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmasters, are my likely opponents in the alchemy competition. Sending the other four who can't refine such elixirs to challenge me would be asking for humiliation.

After all, the ability I've already displayed is that of someone who can refine elixirs to assist a Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster's cultivation. I'm also someone who could refine a Top Quality Elixir version of the Seven Revolutions Nourishing Organ Pill during my assessment. Those four are no match for me at all.

Among the three remaining Third Level Alchemists, two can refine ordinary elixirs that assist those in the Initial Stage of Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster, such as the Nourishing Vein and Bone Marrow Cleansing Pill or the Snow Lotus Nourishing Marrow Pill. However, they can't produce Top Quality versions. Their skill is about the same as what I've publicly shown, so there's no possibility of them crushing me.

Only the last Third Level Alchemist, the one with the strongest Alchemy Ability on Li Yu Peak, is a potential threat. He's capable of refining elixirs to assist a First Bone Marrow Cleansing Grandmaster's cultivation and is the most likely person to compete against me.'